Online Reporter
Bulawayo Bureau
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa will today officiate at the 154th recruit correctional officers’ pass-out parade at the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) Training School in Ntabazinduna.
The pass-out parade will see 1 600 officers graduating after undergoing a rigorous six-month training course.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Mrs Vimbai Nyemba, yesterday confirmed that President Mnangagwa will be the guest of honour.
“Tomorrow (today), we are having our pass-out parade at the Ntabazinduna Prison Training School where we will have over 1 600 officers graduating after completing the course. The period was six months, and two groups are graduating at the same time, with President Mnangagwa presiding over the ceremony as the guest of honour,” she said.
Among the graduating officers are recruits from the San community in Tsholotsho, whose representation in national security services has been steadily increasing.
In line with the Government’s philosophy that no one and no place should be left behind in national development, President Mnangagwa’s administration has facilitated the recruitment of members of the San community into the country’s security services.
The first group of 20 youths from the San community in Tsholotsho District graduated in June 2022.
“The San community has gradually increased in terms of recruits over the years, after the first graduation. We are pleased to note that they have responded positively and will be part of the 1 600 graduating at Ntabazinduna,” said Mrs Nyemba.
In 2021, Cabinet passed a resolution that the country’s security services should set up a quota system for the San community as part of their integration into the broader society.
Prior to the Second Republic’s interventions, the San people lived in their own world, far removed from the rest of the country. Most of them did not have birth certificates or identity documents resulting in them lacking access to many services, including health and voting.
A majority of them could not access school and as a result, could not secure formal jobs, but only menial ones.
In 2021, President Mnangagwa sent a team of ministers to meet the San people to hear their concerns and how they wanted them to be resolved.
Shortly after that, officials were deployed to Tsholotsho to issue birth certificates and other identity documents. More than 5 000 people benefited.
Government is also working on funding the building of a primary and secondary school to enhance access to education within the San community.
